i don't have a favorite war movie, per se, but rather a comment about war movies in general. especially the ones that focused on ww2 and more specifically, the us vs the japanese. notice how the americans almost always win? (except for pearl harbor... but that seems an exception.) ever wonder why?

well, review those movies carefully... i'll let you in on a secret.

it was the soundtrack! see, every time the japanese start closing in on the americans, the soundtrack gets all loud and suspenseful. the soundtrack gives them away every time! american destroyer... ba-dump. japanese sub... Ba-DUMP. every time. so there you have it. ^^

Mulsiphix

02-14-2008, 12:42 PM

Picking an all time favorite is very hard for me. There are several classics but some just really stand out. My all time favorite depiction of World War II was actually a TV mini-series, produced by Steven Spielburg and Tom Hanks, called Band Of Brothers (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Band_of_Brothers). Anybody else here a fan of it?

tesral

02-14-2008, 01:38 PM

Way too broad a catagory. There just so many "war films" becase war is a easy conflict to define.

Maelstrom

02-14-2008, 01:45 PM

How about favorite battle scenes?

Helm's Deep anyone? That's a fun one.

tesral

02-14-2008, 02:04 PM

How about favorite battle scenes?

Helm's Deep anyone? That's a fun one.

Spartacus, when the Roman legion is coming over the hill. Great scene and accurate to Roman tactics.

The Longest Day as the fog lifts and the German general sees the ships that fill the sea to the horizon. DA DA DA DAAAA!

ruelk

02-14-2008, 05:47 PM

I'd say Band of Brothers, though this is a mini series. Other than that it is a tie between Black Hawk Down and We Were Soldiers.

spotlight

02-14-2008, 05:51 PM

MY favorite? HMmm, How about, "All Quiet on the Western Front"
Why? Maybe its the one soldier that keeps clicking his wooden teeth.

And yeah. the Music always gives them away.

rabkala

02-14-2008, 09:15 PM

Saving Private Ryan best WWII with honorable mention to Bridge on the River Kwai.
Full Metal Jacket for Vietnam War movie.
All Quiet on the Western Front for best WWI movie.
M*A*S*H* for best Korean war movie.
Maybe the Patriot for best revolutionary war movie.
Glory for best civil war movie.
Braveheart for best non U.S. war movie.

Hmmm... any other wars?

Citadel

02-15-2008, 11:03 AM

For me it's between the Dirty Dozen, or The Big Red One. I like old school films

tesral

02-15-2008, 11:19 AM

I like the "A few good men" movies. The Guns of Naverone and Where Eagles Dare being my favorites. The First Dirty Dozen I have to say I have never seen. Shame, I know.

boulet

02-15-2008, 01:12 PM

Apocalypse Now for me, and yeah I'm probably some kind of hippie... :)

Mulsiphix

02-15-2008, 03:52 PM

Vietnam was pretty damn good :cool:

MortonStromgal

02-15-2008, 06:19 PM

Bridge on the river kwai
The big red one
platoon

and it must be noted gladiator, because after seeing the opening scene of that (despite the wearing stirrups bit) I thought to myself "if i was in a battle and saw greek fire raining down on me I would have ran!" I really had no idea what a moral breaker greek fire was before that

Mulsiphix

02-15-2008, 10:41 PM

Gladiator wasn't really a war movie but it did rock nuts. I wish they would make a movie based on the God Of War game series. That would be so EPIC! :eek:

Riftwalker

02-15-2008, 10:47 PM

Not sure it really counts as a war movie, but Dr. Strangelove is up there on my list.

And even though it also probably doesn't count as a war movie, I really liked the style/directing of 300.

I liked the Braveheart battles due to their (seemingly) inventive and amusing tactics.

Mulsiphix

02-15-2008, 10:59 PM

300 WAS TOO A WAR MOVIE! The writing style is one of the most inventive I've ever seen in a movie. The only other writing that has stood out so much for me is Lord Of The Rings. Although the movie couldn't touch the magic of the original word as it was written by the master himself. Still top notch for a movie though.

rabkala

02-16-2008, 01:24 AM

Das Boot was pretty good.

Star Wars ;)

ruelk

02-16-2008, 09:03 AM

Apocalypse Now for me, and yeah I'm probably some kind of hippie... :)
Hippie ;)

Seriously, that almost made it on my list, but I don't really consider it a war movie. It was more of a psychology experiment done in a war setting. Still an awesome piece of work.

Full Metal Jacket and Platoon were along the same lines for me, though to a lesser degree.

If I were to go into that type of film, ones that explore the mind of a soldier and how war effects them, I would also list First Blood. Sly Stallone aside, I think what the book and the story were really trying to tell, i.e. how vets were effected and treated after the war, was an important message that needed to be broadcasted in a high action Hollywoodland cash cow.

Grinnen Baeritt

02-17-2008, 06:57 PM

Das Boot was pretty good.

I second that. Very, Very Authentic. A classic.

Add to that list "Cross of Iron" and "Stalingrad" for other films showing the german perspective.

I completely agree. I always thought that if I had to compile a list of very visceral, real feelings of warfare on film I would pick:
The opening scene of Saving Private Ryan
The opening scene of Gladiator
The battle scene in The Patriot (particularly when the cannonball took out someone's leg)As for movies, I'm partial to Lawrence of Arabia (WW1) and All Quiet on the Western Front (WW1). I'm particularly fond of All Quiet because of the pathos of war as depicted in the novel and movie - and their usage of one of the lines of my favorite poem: Dulce et decorum est, pro patria mori (Wilfred Owen).

Melefresh

Edited: Because the 13th Warrior is one of my favorite movies of all time (thanks Drohem for reminding me) - despite the flack I get for liking it.

boulet

02-21-2008, 08:21 PM

I just remembered one I like a lot : Capitaine Conan (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0115822/). It should be available through your favorite online DVD provider. The setting is Bulgaria during the first world war. The dynamic is the internal political plot between officers and non-commissioned officers. The latter do their best to fight a dirty war and limit the death among their men, while officers try to wash their hands and protect their butts from judicial procedures. It talks also of the difficult task for a soldier to fit back in civilian life. All this is pretty much relevant in a modern context... The fact it's not about WWII or another of these wars that most perceive as just or necessary, sheds a different light too.

Drohem

02-21-2008, 09:37 PM

Ok, I am not sure that this would fall into the war movie category, maybe more of a historical piece. I really like this movie:

The Duellists

It was made in 1977 and stars Keith Carradine and Harvey Keitel.

It is about a series of duels between two French officers of Napoleon's army throughout their lives.

The duel scenes are excellent; especially the saber duel on horseback.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0075968/

Drohem

02-24-2008, 12:45 PM

I just saw this again last night, and it's a really good historical film about the Boer War.